I love Allan Stone. Recently was introduced to Allen Stone's music by a friend of mine - thanks Nolyn! :) He reminds me of Remy Shand and Musiq Soulchild. The first song was on YouTube titled "Consider Me". Now I don't know if it's because Valentine's Day was yesterday and I'm in my feelings because I found someone I really want to spend the rest of my life with or if it's just love is in the air, but this is amazing. I immediately noticed Taye Diggs in the video and I've always been a fan, so I had to keep watching. When I heard Allan Stone start singing, I was immediately hooked. I had to find out who this guy is. I haven't heard of him yet. Here's that amazing video - and PLEASE subscribe to his YouTube channel, "LIKE" his video and show him some love. We support artists!!

Yeah. I cried. What can I say, I'm a big softie. Then I wiped away the tears, sent the video to my lovely lady, and told her she MUST watch it as soon as she gets off work. I then wiped away more tears, took a deep breath, and Google'd Allen Stone's name. He's WHAT?? He's from WASHINGTON STATE! Holy $h!t! Mind blown. Now I really must be out of touch because I ... well, I've been a DJ for decades and I used to think I knew every "new and upcoming artist" out of the Pacific Northwest.  Boy was I surprised!

Allen was born March 13th 1987 in a place called Chewelah. Now I'm not going to pretend like I know how to pronounce that, I have heard it but pronounced different ways. It's near Spokane. He began his singing career at his father's church.  His pops was a preacher and his ma was an OB/GYN nurse. He started singing at church... when he was only three years old. By the age of 14 Allen was leading worship at his church and playing the guitar. The draw of music for Allen was mainly being able to express himself to crowds of people. 

Allen didn't discover soul music however until he was a teenager, and started collecting classic albums from the 60's & 70's. He was 15 when he heard Stevie Wonder's 1973 album Innervisions.

When Stacie Orrico, a close friend of Allen's as a teen, became successful in music Stone decided to become serious about his musical career. Orrico released a record and had become successful. "She was traveling, singing everywhere, and recording" Stone related. "She was just a year older than me and I was like, 'Man that would be so much fun to do, sing and actually have people listen.'"

When Stone was 18 he moved to Spokane and went to community college for a semester followed by a year at Moody Bible Institute in Spokane. After that year Stone had an epiphany. He stated in an interview with SF Gate - "I learned the history of the church and the conception of the Bible and learned about the religion and really just.. like... didn't believe it.  I got to the point where it was like 'I don't believe this is the truth.'" Not long after he moved to Seattle to pursue his musical career. 

He's released FOUR records - Last To Speak in 2010, self-released - the self-titled album Allen Stone in 2011 on ATO Records - Radius in 2015 on Capitol Records and Building Balance in 2019 on ATO Records.  Radius was also re-released by ATO Records in 2016 as a deluxe edition with seven additional tracks. 

Stone has been touring cross-country for a few years and sold a self-released album on the internet. However, it wasn't until October 2011 when his second album was released that boosted his career. On this album he was backed by Raphael Saadiq's rhythm section and Miles Davis' keyboardis Deron Johnson. A few songs on Allen Stone were co-written with Andy Grammer. Allen Stone peaked at the number 2 spot on the R&B/Soul charts on iTunes and hit number 9 and number 35 on the Billboard Heatseekers and R&B/Hip-Hop Album Charts respectively. USA Today called Allen Stone a "pitch-perfect powerhouse".

You can read more about Allen Stone's career here.  I seriously suggest listening to him. A lot. A whole lot. It's good for your soul.  In fact, I'll drop a few more YouTube videos here so you can enjoy them yourself. I will be following this amazing artist and vocalist for a long time, I hope.

Turn Your Darkest Times and Your Biggest Mistakes Into Powerful Opportunities for Success.
​We all make mistakes.
It’s a fact of life.
And sometimes, you can experience a lot of pain and stress because of things that are completely outside of your control.
However, you CAN control how you respond to those events!
Even your mistakes can be turned into incredible opportunities.
You might be thinking: “Maybe that’s true for some people, but my problems are too big to be turned into opportunities.”
That’s a completely understandable feeling, but it’s 100% wrong.
And to prove it, we’re going to look at some of the biggest struggles people face, and how those can be turned into opportunities.
More importantly, we’ll look at why our brains are hardwired to be deeply afraid of loss, even if that means being unhappy and stressed out. 
Finally, I’ll show you how we can change that mental programming to become more successful, happy, and stress-free, automatically.
#1: Losing a Job.One of the most stressful things that can happen to someone is losing their job.
But it’s also a huge opportunity.
First of all, most people HATE their job and would do anything to get out of it… until it actually happens!
Remember, your brain is hardwired to be afraid of loss (you’ll see the research in this article a little later).
But losing a job gives you the chance to find something better, more free time, and an opportunity to take control of your future.
Many people who start successful businesses actually get started because they lost their 9 to 5 job!
#2: Divorce.Divorce is painful, no matter what.
Even if you know it’s for the best, getting divorced can feel lonely and stressful.
But a divorce is also a clear sign that something in the relationship wasn’t working. Whatever it was, this is your chance to dig deep and truly understand what YOU need from a relationship.
Be honest with yourself: was money an issue? Were you not sexually fulfilled? Did you think your partner was too boring, self-interested, or preoccupied?
Whatever it was, it’s time to realize that you deserve happiness, even if that means a brief period of sadness and loss.
#3: Physical Injuries.Physical pain is hard to deal with, especially when it’s constant and overwhelming.
Meditation has been shown to reduce the brain’s perception of pain, and while it’s easy to ignore the meditation you know you should be doing, physical pain can be a good reminder of the value of meditation.
Pain can also be a warning sign: what activities should you avoid doing in the future?
And if you’re stuck in bed because of your injury, you may use the opportunity to read more, increase your knowledge, and learn new skills that are useful in your career or personal life.
#4: Needing More Money (for bills, house repairs, etc.).Money is one of the worst causes of stress in life.
It’s also the #1 reason people get divorced.
But the need for money is also a sign that something is wrong in your life.
Financial security is incredibly important, but if you’re never short on cash, you don’t realize how much money you really need.
And many people begin incredibly successful careers or businesses specifically because they need more money.
You may even find new ways to manifest abundance in your life, as long as you use this opportunity to be open to solutions you haven’t tried in the past.
Research: Why Your Brain is Hardwired to Feel Devastated (Instead of Seeing Opportunities in Front of You).You’re brain is extremely biased toward disaster.
Scientific research shows that our brains register losses much more than we register gains.
Consider these two scenarios:

1. Gaining $50.
2. Losing $50.

Both of these scenarios are mathematically equal.
Yet if you lose $50, your brain will react 2x as much as it would to receiving $50.
It’s the same reason we have so much self-doubt and fear in our lives.
You’re Afraid of Opening the Treasure Chest.For many of us, public speaking is a big fear.
But what if you had to speak to potential investors who would gladly put $10,000 into your pocket if you gave them a good speech?
The negative consequences of speaking to a group of people are pretty minimal.
At worst, you might say something embarrassing or feel a little nervous.
But that fear is strong enough to make people avoid situations where they could make massive amounts of money!
The same thing happens when you stay at your soul-crushing job or stay in an unfulfilling romantic relationship.
If you weren’t afraid of losing something, even something you don’t particularly like, you would be able to embrace the world of opportunities all around you.
Luckily, there’s an easy and practically automatic way to rewire your brain’s feelings about loss and opportunity.
Rewire Your Brain for Opportunity and Success in Just 10 Minutes.There’s an incredibly easy way to rewire your brain, reduce self-doubt, and eliminate the fear that forces your brain to focus on loss instead of opportunities.
It’s called the 10 Minute Awakening, and it’s based 100% on scientific research.
This system actually stimulates your brain’s natural ability to change and grow (yes--it actually GROWS your brain!) and you can overcome negativity to become a more successful, happy, and optimistic person.


Whether you’re in a tight spot for money or you just want to create a more fulfilling life for yourself, you should give the 10 Minute Awakening a shot.
>>> Try the 10 Minute Awakening Now. <<<

Special Two-For-One Pricing Details HERE

Sqribble ... it's the real deal. I've been involved in this online marketing thing for a few months, and there's one important thing I've learned - when you're doing affiliate marketing and promoting other people's products, the more freebees you have to offer the better. People love free stuff, especially the people looking for affordable products to help them make money online. It's a no-brainer. It doesn't always have to be something spectacular, and quite often it's something simple - like an eBook.

If you've been involved in this affiliate marketing journey you’ll know that lead magnets, eBooks and reports are powerful ways to build your list or sell directly for profit, but you’ll also know they’re a serious headache to create too. All that writing, designing and formatting… and trying to find pre-written ones that you can give away as your own bonus? Forget it. They're always packed with links that financially support the writer of the original eBook. Best bet - write your own. Something that answers a question to your potential audience. For example, if you're promoting a product that helps someone build their Facebook group you can start an eBook, title it "Ten Ways To Build Your Facebook Group", and do some simple research on writing this. Or you can save a lot of time and have a software build it for you....

Another reason why eBooks can be so profitable - log on to Ebay and just search "Ebook". There are tens of thousands of eBooks on there. Why? Because once you get an eBook written you can throw it on EBay for a few bucks, or even one dollar, and leave it there. Anyone that buys it you send a download link to. Boom. Now you can have hundreds of people buy that ONE eBook that just sits there collecting money into your PayPal account. No shipping, no inventory, no hassles. Now imagine if you had ten eBooks on EBay for $1.00 each. If each one of those were purchased ten times a week that's $100.00 per week for something you did ONE TIME. $400.00 a month for as long as they sit there. That's some pretty significant side money isn't it?

That’s why a new product recently caught my attention — it’s called Sqribble and it’s an online tool that instantly creates professional eBooks, reports, whitepapers and other types of digital books with a few clicks or taps.
This concept isn’t new. There have been a lot of different eBook creator tools in the past. But if you’ve used most of them, you’ll know they all share the same frustrating flaws:
— They have crappy templates.
— They are buggy and unreliable.
— They often require additional tools

What is Sqribble?
Sqribble is different. It’s packed with professional templates, seriously good looking covers, and surprisingly, is totally bug free. In fact, the whole process of creating an eBook with Sqribble is satisfyingly easy and smooth.

Oh yeah, it's also a lot of FUN.

But perhaps most remarkable of all… Sqribble comes loaded with some of the most powerful features I’ve seen in an eBook creator tool.

Here’s just some of the things this powerful tool can do:
— Automatic table of contents
— Automatic headers and footers
— Automatic pagination
— Drag and drop design
— Add or delete pages
— Add your own media
— 300+ Google Fonts
— 50 eBook templates (in 15 different niche categories)
— 10 different eBook themes
— Automatically create content (woah.)
— Turn your book into a flipbook (double woah.)

Seriously, if that’s not enough to make you want to check this thing out, I don’t know what else to say. Apart from this — Sqribble isn’t perfect. Yes, it’s powerful. Yes, it’s going to save you tons of time and money creating eBooks. But it does have a few flaws.

What I loved about Sqribble
Without doubt it’s the pro designs, the simplicity and the speed at which you can create seriously professional-looking and attractive eBooks, on the fly.
And the fact you can turn your eBook into a flipbook is just icing on the cake. It just makes your books look and feel more “real” and that’s a good thing for engaging your readers.
The amount of customization is just off the charts too. You can tweak your designs, layouts and everything in-between to your heart’s desire. It even creates a table of contents for you, inserts all your content into a nice layout, play around with the formatting and design, add stuff, delete stuff… it’s only limited by your imagination.
But if the idea of too many options scares you… don’t worry. Sqribble is designed to keep things simple. You can just go with the ready-made templates, layouts and styles, insert your content automatically, and boom… you’ve got a pro eBook that’s going to grab more attention, build trust, engage your readers, and help you stand out in a sea of competition.

About the creator
Sqribble has been developed by Adeel Chowdhry, who is a well-known internet entrepreneur and best seller, with over ten years of experience and has previously created worldwide hits such as Pixel Studio FX which sold tens of thousands of units all around the world. He’s known for creating high quality professional solutions and I expect no less from Sqribble.

Final thoughts
The standard has risen online. These days, your eBooks can’t look like crap, or people just won’t want to optin, buy or read it. And because people are busier than ever, they will only spend a couple of seconds deciding whether your book is worth reading or not.

With Sqribble, you can instantly create books that scream trust, credibility and value, and attract more subscribers and sales.

Creating eBooks has always been a pain for most marketers, but with Sqribble, it really doesn’t have to be. With a few clicks, you can choose a template, add content, tweak the layout and then publish online… in just minutes from now.
Instead of spending hundreds — or even thousands — on freelancers, or even more money on fancy software, I would seriously recommend giving Sqribble a test drive first… I think you’ll be amazed how powerful, easy and quick the whole experience is.

Click here to check out Sqribble for yourself.  It really is one of the best tools I've found so far and trust me, I've looked into dozens.

WOW. Just WOW!! If you've got a Chauvet Gigbar 2.0 from Chauvet (clearly) you know what that WOW means. These lights are the ISH! Lightweight, come with their own stands, everything goes into a padded case and bags, very easy to transport, and the lights... the LIGHTS. They are GORGEOUS. One Gigbar 2.0 has two derby-style lights. Two par type lights. Strobe lights. Laser lights. UV lights. So versatile and easy to use. You can link up to SIXTEEN of these bad boys in a master-slave chain. SIXTEEN???  I could only imagine what that might look like.

I've used these things for a while, and unfortunately I got mine before the upgrade. Shortly after purchasing mine from AmericanMusical.com (part of why I endorse www.zzounds.com now) my LED strobe/UV lights went out on one of them, and AmericanMusical even though they were under warranty basically gave me Chauvet's number to try to get it replaced. Yeah, RIGHT! Let me tell you that's not easy. Chauvet's customer service is sub-par but would I purchase these guys again? FOR SURE!! They've upgraded them slightly since I've gotten mine, the foot pedal housing is a bit more solid... yet still not as durable as you might expect a foot pedal to be. Mine have annoying antennas popping up from the Gigbars and the footswitch themselves, the new ones have internal antennas so that's a LOVELY upgrade. Don't beat up your carrying cases either, it's easy for the material to rip, not exactly what I'd expect a mobile DJ bag to be made of but I'd still buy them. The lights... OHHH the lights!  They're BEAUTIFUL! I do weddings and with the handy footswitch or hand-held remote control it's easy to change the color of the pars, so when it's time for the couple's first dance switching the colors for the photographer to have different moods and filter looks works like a charm. Every photographer has thanked me for giving them different tones to have such a variety of photos. I've used them in clubs, and even without fog machines they still are quite impressive. Add a little fog and a pair of these bad boys working together looks like a professional stage setup in no time. 

​If you're looking for affordable lights - and with Zzounds.com you can get them on a payment plan - I strongly suggest getting a pair of these bad boys. I promise, I love mine and you won't regret it.